Browsing by Subject "cognitive abilities"

In today’s rapidly changing 21st century world, thriving citizens require skills such as critical thinking, reasoning, problem solving, synthetizing of information and metacognition. Studies have shown that today’s school doesn’t necessarily manage to foster these domain-general cognitive skills by teaching only domain-specific information. Cognitive skills refer to the ability to process information, thus, the ability to comprehend and understand information. The aim of the discussion method, philosophy for children (P4C), is to, among other outcomes, foster such cognitive abilities. The aim of this study was to examine the capacity of philosophy for children (P4C) to foster cognitive abilities in the school context. In this study, I will examine what kinds of studies have been conducted regarding the influence philosophy for children has on children’s cognitive abilities. In addition, I will examine and report the studies’ outcomes regarding the types of influences philosophy for children has on cognitive abilities. This research was carried out as a systematic literature review. Six peer reviewed scientific articles were selected as research material. The selected articles reported studies regarding the influence of philosophy for children on children’s cognitive abilities. In the study, there had to be performed measurements before and after or during the intervention lasting at least two months. This research found that the methods of philosophy for children produce a wide range of positive outcomes related to cognitive abilities as well as other abilities. Positive influences were discovered in critical and logical thinking, verbal and non-verbal reasoning and deduction. Additionally, improvements were also found in areas such as self-esteem, reading comprehension and social relationships, dialog within the class, extraversion and honesty. Researches reviewed in this study were conducted with various methods and samples, as well as in a variety of cultural contexts. The results indicate that philosophy for children has the possibility to enhance cognitive abilities in the school world. It is concluded that more research should be aimed at the philosophy for children’s influences on cognitive abilities in a Finnish context, as no such studies were identified in the present review.